Co-Chairs Patti and Barb presided at the meeting.  There were 20 members present and 4 on Zoom. Also present was Sonja Martin, our Assistant Governor.

 

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES:  Greg Nelson and Chuck Norton celebrated birthdays; Mary Lou Bilder-Gold celebrated her 27 years of  Club membership; Amy Skalinder her 3^rd year of Club membership; and Rodger Morris his 50^th year of Club membership which resulted in special contributions to the Club’s Foundation by Patti and other members. (Rodger continues in stable health attended by his daughter in his home.)

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Patti reminded everyone of the New Trier Swing Choir program at our Dec. 8^th meeting also featuring the return of our past caterer (Donna Goodman) who is anticipating a turnout of at least 50 members and guests for the event; Patti also announced that we will have a Club meeting on Dec.15^th but not on Dec. 29^th.

   Liz Taylor informed everyone that Club members are also members of the local Chamber of Commerce and therefore invited to its Holiday Celebration to be held at her North Shore Community Bank (576 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka) from 5 to 7 pm on Tuesday, December 6;  Heidi Sibert announced that she will again serve as Chair of the Club’s Kids Against Hunger drive next February 25th which provides over 60,000 meals for children;  Barb reported that Good News Partners really appreciated our Club’s work on this project and that there were an additional 80 meals also supplied to Good News Partners by community residents; Moha reported that a news reporter saw him unloading a huge container of Cheerios boxes at GNP and when he explained to the reporter that they were  boxes given by the Rotary to Good News Partners the reporter said that he would write a news report on the project in a local newspaper.

   David Birkenstein announced that long time Winnetka resident, Gwen Trindl, recently passed away—several years ago she was chosen as “Winnetka Woman of the Year”.

 

HAPPY BUCKS: Bill Leske was quick to donate in celebration of the marriage of his last daughter; Fred put on his Michigan U. cap and proudly gave our Foundation 750 “happy bucks” to celebrate Michigan  finally beating the Buckeyes in an important football game!

    At this point, Patti, Barb and Amy conducted the Rotary swearing-in procedure for new member, and old friend, John Zeddies.  Liz Taylor, his sponsor, also participated in the event.

 

SPEAKER MICHELLE ROSENTHAL, DIRECTOR OF GLENCOE YOUTH SERVICES ORGANIZATION.  Safiyyah introduced Michelle who has a job similar to Safiyyah’s at the WYO. The Glencoe YSO also includes kids in a “teen center” in Glencoe’s Middle School that’s open every day from 3:30 to 6:00 pm.  Highland Park, Country Day and Glencoe Central schools all participate in these YSO activities.  The “battle of the bands” activity is very popular at these locations. Next year bands from Wilmette and Winnetka will also be invited to participate. The YSO also sponsors talent shows at various local churches.

    The Glencoe YSO facility is also used for adult activities such as 30-40 adults meeting at “Lunches of Hope” where they plan services for the community such as collecting used flowers from weddings, parties, etc. and distributing them to shut-in people in the area to enjoy.  There are evening SNAP (Special Needs Adult Pals) dinners at the YSO for 25-30 local residents to socialize and discuss community needs and projects.

   Michelle covered many other activities under her management and will be sending our Club a list of “Ways to Help” her develop the many activities she manages.  Many questions from the floor were addressed by Michelle until our meeting was adjourned with recitation of the Rotary 4 Way Test.

 

1. Call to Action! The New Trier Township food pantry needs our support. The pantry is low on essential items that support Township residents and workers. We will be collecting non perishable food items and hygiene supplies at each Thursday meeting. Donations can also be dropped off at the Community House every other day of the week. This service project will run through the end of September. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that we support and uplift one another. 

 

2. Additional items that we will be collecting at each Thursday meeting are pop tabs from aluminum cans and bread clips. The pop tabs will be donated to Ronald Mcdonald House for recycling and they go towards offsetting the costs of helping children and their families. 

 

The bread clips will be donated to 'Scarcely Resourced' who will be recycling them in partnership with 'Danielle Cares for Chairs'. A few thousand of these bread clips will purchase a wheelchair for a child in need. The bread tags are also now being utilized by a prosthetic clinic to strengthen the molding process of making a prosthesis.